Dean Patricia Salkin Installed at Convocation

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center held an Academic Convocation to install Dean Patricia E. Salkin as dean of the school, at the Federal Courthouse in Central Islip on October 11, 2012. Patricia Salkin, a nationally renowned legal scholar, is the law school’s fifth dean and its first female dean. She replaces Dean Lawrence Raful, who distinguished himself during his eight years of service. More than 300 guests were in attendance, including members of the bar and bench as well as alumni, students and friends of the law school.

Judge Judith Kaye, former Chief Judge of the State of New York, delivered the keynote address. The Hon. Victoria Graffeo, Associate Judge of the New York Court of Appeals and the Hon. Leonard Wexler, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of New York, also participated in the program.

Touro Law is known as an innovative law school, merging the classroom with the courtroom through curricular models such as the Collaborative Court Program and the Court Observation Program. In addition, the law school boosts the only Public Advocacy Center in the country. Judge Leonard Wexler, a federal judge for the United State District Court for the Eastern district of New York, interacts with Touro Law students daily in his courtroom. Judge Wexler said this of Dean Salkin, “She is going to continue the good work of the prior dean and keep us all together as a family. I tell you right now, Touro has the best program for teaching students how to deal with real people, how to deal with real issues and what goes on in the court. As far as I'm concerned, Touro is number one in the nation for training students to be good lawyers.”

In addressing the audience, Judge Graffeo said, “I bring you all greetings from the New York State Court of Appeals. Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman and my colleagues extend their congratulations to Dean Salkin. We all have such deep respect for Patricia Salkin - her dedication and contributions to state and federal government agencies and government policies, her contributions to legal education and her continual commitment to public service and community service have just been absolutely outstanding.” She continued her remarks, speaking to Dean Salkin, “You were such a great asset to Albany Law, to the capital district and to the community. I know you will continue in that capacity at Touro.”

Patricia Salkin has had the honor to work with Judge Kaye on several occasions over the past 20 years. In her keynote address, Judge Kaye remarked, “I am so pleased to be a part of Touro 's Academic Convocation to welcome and formally install your magnificent new dean Patricia E. Salkin. All of us, Patty, are particularly grateful and we are delighted by your willingness to take on this new role at a time in our economy, in our profession and in the world of legal education that is so especially challenging - more challenging than I have known in the half century since my own law school graduation. And you Patty have boldly stepped up to this challenge with eyes wide open and incredible enthusiasm for smart and sustainable 21st century change to legal education and the legal profession.” She continued, “I have no better evidence, no better hope than in your fabulous dean who will leave no idea idle, no resource untapped in these leadership efforts, utilizing the best of the bar and every single one of you to meet today's challenges.”

Dr. Alan Kadish, president and chief executive officer of Touro College had this to say in his opening remarks, “Tonight we honor the Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s distinguished new dean, Patricia E. Salkin, and I extend a warm welcome to her in joining the Touro family. A renowned legal scholar, accomplished administrator, prolific author, and recipient of numerous honors and awards, she embodies the Law Center’s ideals of academic excellence. Her energy, innovative thinking and commitment to fulfilling the Law Center’s potential are boundless.”

Dean Salkin has published numerous casebooks, treatises, books and more than 100 articles, columns, studies and reports on topics including municipal law, sustainable development, climate change, affordable housing, and aging law. She is a member of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates and has held leadership positions within both the ABA and the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA). She is currently a member of the ABA’s Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs.

The Dean, who has chaired several NYSBA task forces, also chaired the State and Local Government Law Section for the American Association of Law Schools. An elected member of the American Law Institute, Dean Salkin is an advisor for the drafting of the Principles on the Law of Government Ethics. She chairs the amicus curiae committee for the American Planning Association, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Urban Lawyer.

Salkin has served on the transition teams for attorneys general Eric Schneiderman, Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer. She is a member of the University Council for Empire State College, has served on the University Council for the University at Albany, and has worked with the National Park Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Academy for Public Administration and the National Governors Association.

She has received honors from the ABA, the New York State Bar, the Capital District Women’s Bar and other organizations. Salkin is on the New York City Bar Task Force on New Lawyers in a Changing Profession and the State Bar Task Force on Legal Education and Admission to the Bar.

Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center’s 185,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility is located adjacent to both a state and a federal courthouse in Central Islip. Touro Law’s proximity to the courthouses, coupled with programming developed to integrate the courtroom into the classroom, provide a one-of-a kind learning model for law students, combining a rigorous curriculum taught by expert faculty with practical courtroom experience. Touro Law, with a student body of approximately 750 and an alumni base of more than 5,000, offers full- and part-time J.D. programs, several dual degree programs and graduate law programs for American and overseas law graduates. Touro Law Center is part of the Touro College and University System.

About the Touro College and University SystemTouro is a system of non-profit institutions of higher and professional education. Touro College was chartered in 1970 primarily to enrich the Jewish heritage, and to serve the larger American and global community. Approximately 19,000 students are currently enrolled in its various schools and divisions. Touro College has branch campuses, locations and instructional sites in the New York area, as well as branch campuses and programs in Berlin, Jerusalem, Moscow, Paris, and Florida. Touro University California and its Nevada branch campus, as well as Touro College Los Angeles and Touro University Worldwide as separately accredited institutions within the Touro College and University System. For further information on Touro College, please go to: http://www.touro.edu/media/.